The practice of Ayurveda, the traditional medicine of India, is based on the concept of three major constitutional types (Vata, Pitta and Kapha) defined as “Prakriti”. To the best of our knowledge, no study has convincingly correlated genomic variations with the classification of Prakriti.….we found that PGM1 correlates with phenotype of Pitta as described in the ancient text of Caraka Samhita, suggesting that the phenotypic classification of India’s traditional medicine has a genetic basis; and its Prakriti-based practice in vogue for many centuries resonates with personalized medicine.

Introduction
Among the traditional systems of medicine practiced all over the world, Ayurveda of India has a documented history dating back to 1500 BCE1,2.

…The basic concepts of Ayurveda are; 1. five elements – panchabhuta – which constitute the physical universe including the human body and; 2. three doshas (Vata, Pitta and Kapha) or constitutional types of every human. These doshas refer broadly to the functions of motion, digestion and cumulation. Though all three doshas exist in every human being one is dominant based on which an individual’s Prakriti is determined. Prakritis are discreet phenotypes and they are determined on the basis of physical, psychological, physiological and behavioural traits, and independent of social, ethnic and geographical variables1,3,4. The etymology of these Sanskrit terms suggests that Vata originates from movement, Pitta from digestion and Kapha from cumulation. Since Prakritis underlie an individual’s predisposition to disease as well as response to treatment, it is imperative in Ayurvedic practice to identify the Prakriti of a patient before treatment5.

Concept of Prakriti in Ayurveda and its relationship with genomics was hypothesized over a decade ago6. … While these studies have shown the association of specific genes with the phenotype of a particular Prakriti, the association of genomic variations with Prakriti classification was lacking. This is the first attempt to classify the Prakritis using genome-wide SNP markers and to provide a scientific basis for Prakriti classification.

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]]>16906Logging off facebook…http://satyameva-jayate.org/2014/12/27/logging-off-facebook/
http://satyameva-jayate.org/2014/12/27/logging-off-facebook/#respondSat, 27 Dec 2014 10:39:18 +0000http://satyameva-jayate.org/?p=16889Dear Friends, from early next week, I will be ‘downgrading’ my engagement with facebook…It has been five years since I started the ||Satyameva Jayate|| facebook page..During that time, what started as another channel for my blog posts and thoughts has gone from strength to strength, attracting several thousands of members…Sometime around last year though (2013), I began to notice early signs of something being wrong…Earlier this year, my fears were confirmed..

Since this summer, I have paid less and less attention to my page…and the numbers/engagement shows this. Today, I finally decided to stop spending any serious time on it – at least for now. I will keep the page ‘open’ – for a while, at least..but the main ‘action’ will now be on twitter – and occasionally on the blog – which shall always remains the final source of all that I write about…(you can subscribe to my weekly newsletter here)

And to all my ‘friends’ on facebook, I am not abandoning you! You have my email – and my phone number – so just call or write. It is so much nicer than a fb “Like”!

Knowing the “history” that is taught in our schools, many of you may have never heard his name – or have only a faint recollection of him as “someone from south India”.

Bharathi was not only a freedom fighter and a social reformer far ahead of his times, he was also one of the greatest poets of his age..His poetry inspired the masses to fight against colonial rule.. Even more interestingly, he was probably one of the earliest leaders of the freedom struggle who had a clear view on enterprise, liberty and individual freedoms…

As KV Sarma mentions in his post about “The Visionary“,
“apart from being a Patriot at core…(he was) a true representation of Indian Right that supported enterprise and freedom during the time when “Gandhian Socialism and respect to Gandhi” was considered Nationalism”

As we rush through the 21st century, impatient in many ways with our past, we would do well to reflect in passing on this many-faceted son of India who gave so completely of himself to the liberty of his motherland.

Some of you may know that he was a contemporary of VVS Iyer and Sri Aurobindo and there is a museum in Pondicherry where he moved in 1908 to escape arrest. Pl take a moment to remember this extraordinary man today..and pl share this with your friends and especially the younger ones in your family.. जय हिंद, जय भारत! – शांतनु